creation. i just wanted to express that. president buell: think you very much. vice president harrison: these are battery-driven, i understand. they need to be recharged, and understand. i was wondering how that is going to be achieved in a good way. >> i would like to introduce the property manager with the department. >> it will have a charging station at the kiosk and in the storage container to charge overnight and between each tour. vice president harrison: and they will be using the power from the band shell? >> we are working out the electrical logistics now. vice president harrison: ok. thank you. >> we do have public comment. i am going to go ahead and read off a list of names. ross helverson, christian watts,

and brian hoover. please come up. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am one of the owners of bay city bike rentals and tours, as well as the partner in the upcoming parked bike project. i am here today to support the award of the contract to the san francisco electric tour company. this company is the right choice for many reasons. they have successfully run their operation for five years. they have managed to grow that operation amid heavy competition and increase their overall visibility. the san francisco electric tour company is a safe and professional tour operator. they worked in a small and crowded neighborhood. but they are not a nuisance, nor

do they cause a danger to pedestrians, buses, and bikes that share the neighborhood. their director is on the board of the fisherman's wharf merchants association as well as our community benefit district. he is passionate about giving his time to his community in volunteer positions. he does a lot of background grass-roots work that keeps all of our businesses running. finally, he is an expert in sales and marketing. in addition to publishing various visitor guides, they have an on-line tour booking engine as well as successful discounted activity passes. i know he will leverage all of that advertising proficiency and know how to increase the percentage of visitors in e go golden gate park. i'm 100% confident that brian and his team, at the electric tour company, the work well with your staff, with your commission, with golden gate

park users and create and operate a world class segue tour operation. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> lori, lauren, and then ross, please. >> good afternoon, corey roebuck from cable car sights. we have the motorized cable cars that have been driving around here since 1959 here in support of this item. i've actually had the opportunity to take a segway tour from fisherman's wharf. i can speak to the professionalism of the staff that was there. in the 50-minute training i had, the safety, courtesy towards other vehicles and pedestrians, very thorough. had no hesitation whatsoever in actually going out on the streets of san francisco. in fact, we brought our entire ticketing staff back, because we had such a great time on our tour. and my wife reminds me that i've promised to take her out as well. our tours crossed paths on at least three different occasions, despite the fact that our dock captains make

segues make speed bumps, we never had any safety concern or any hesitation about sharing the streets with them. i did want to speak as well about the professionism of brian and his staff. he's on a number of boards as great community leader and love the fact that this is an alternative mode of transportation and the fact that it's renewable, we pride ourselves that it's a green business. no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this company. president kim: thank you. >> lauren? >> good afternoon, i'm the national sales manager. i've had the pleasure of working with brian and his team for about a year and a half now. we are in favor of this program. not only do we feel that it's an economic cal and clean way of seeing san francisco, it's a safe and quiet way of seeing the park, which is a very large piece of property. speaking on a personal level, i have a lot of people in my family who have mobility

issues, who can't walk for great distances, and this is a really actually ingenious way for people to be able to get around the park and enjoy it, as anybody else would have the opportunity to. in the past year and a half working with brian and his team, they've been reliable. they've been quick to respond. they've lived up to a safety standard that we all respect in our community, which is a very small community. they deliver their goods when they say they're going to deliver their goods. we have about 10 to 15 vehicles on the road at any given day and we've never had a problem with their product. i'm keeping it short and sweet. so we are in favor of that, and thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> ross? >> good evening, commissioners, general manager. my name is ross halverson and i represent blazing saddles bike rentals and tours. we work together with the electric tour company as neighbors at fisherman's wharf and i also have the confidence

that they will run a professional and safe operation in golden gate park. just as we find bicycles an important recreational opportunity in all of the city, i think so, too, will be segway tours in the park. and i just wanted to briefly state that we support the approval to select san francisco electric tour company as the operator of segway tours in golden gate park. thanks very much. president kim: thank you. >> christian, and then brian, please. >> good afternoon. my name is christian watts. i'm c.e.o. of city sights corporation. we offer a fleet of 18 double-decker buses and school buses in san francisco. have done that for the last five years. i've done business with brian for, i think, 12 or 13 years, with matt west, s.f. electric. i think it's already been said. everyone is very supportive. i'd like to fully support the addition to golden gate park.

president kim: thank you. >> brian. >> good afternoon, commissioners, i'm brian huber. a couple of people mentioned my name earlier. the park staff did a great job of covering our operations. first, i want to thank you for putting this r.f.d. out here. it's a great opportunity for my company and to have a new activity inside the park. and i want to thank everybody that worked on the 2008 pilot program. they did the hard work on this and we're going to get some of the benefits of that. we operated the last five years, we are very safety-focused, and i'd like to welcome anyone to come out on our tours. we started doing test tours in the park and we don't have our route down yet. we're still working on that. we're offering free tours, so come on down and we'll take you out for the part of the route that we know. our material is not quite up to

snuff yet, but we're getting there. the big focus for this is we want to co-exist with everything that's already in the park, pedestrians, even down to the squirrels, everybody. so we have an etiquette policy that we've sent to staff for review. it's humerus, just like our training, but humor is a good way to get everyone's attention. our mission for this project is basically to educate the visitors about not only the history of the park, but the current activities. and the other thing we want to do is 1,000 acres. we want to bring people further west and out into the areas where they're not visiting as much. you can cover a lot of ground on a segway tour. we're not zipping along on a fast pace. the speed is limited by the key and also by the guide. we do use -- so we're not making a lot of racket, we use ear buds and these little radios association the whole narration is done to each person and there's no speakers

blaring. we put bells on the segway, so when we come up behind people, we can alert them to our presence. we look forward to our operation, and i want to invite the community to come out and we'll be doing a lot of outreach in the next few weeks, to make sure everyone has a say in this. >> good afternoon. since the late 2009 we have been concerned about the placement of vendors in the music concourse. we do appreciate a rec and park means a hot dog stand behind the band show. last year when the segway rental booth was first proposed, we expressed our concern about this plan and its impact on historic context to the area and we requested a long-term plan for the area. other food vendors have been added and a bicycle rental stand is also considered. we understand the need to earn income to support the department, but there are two

issues. first of all, the music concourse is a city landmark. we believe that under the terms of the lands mark legislation, any new features require a certificate of appropriateness. secondly, there needs to be a long-term plan for the area behind the band shell and the bus parking lot, where currently there are things, including bus parking, employee parking and other odd vehicles that show up there. we recommend consulting the golden gate park master plan for an attractive, high-quality design to match the dignity and spirit of the overall music concourse. a long-term plan could include the type of vendors, the location and extent of the equipment. the appearance to the equipment and the style, color and materials of the seating and tables will be provided. the music concourse is a classic, peaceful space that provides a beautiful respite for san francisco yans and visitors alike from the pressures and commercialism that permeate our 21st century

society. we encourage the department to take the same care they have taken with the renovation to preserve the special feeling of this area and its development of commercial opportunities. we have a memo which details our concerns. there is more information here and on our website. >> any other public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. president buell: let me make a comment that i went out and took the tour and i was very impressed. i was particularly impressed with the training they did before they let me loose and how thorough it was. i was even further impressed that my guide -- and they don't have the contract yet -- had been boning up on the history of the area that she was giving

me a tour of. so i thought that was pretty special. so they are quite remarkable, and i think this is going to be a real asset to the park and i think the management and the company could not be more professional. i think katherine raises some interesting issues that we need to pay attention to, and that is to try and come up with a master plan for all these efforts that are new and coming about, because that area is now pristine and it is historic. so, like any new venture in the park, there's no question that i think this is a compatible use, if appropriately cited. and i think it is appropriately cited now. but it doesn't diminish the fact that we are getting more pressures for other activities and we ought to have a plan and working with that concours group, so i want to second that recommendation. with that, commissioner lee. commissioner lee: i'd agree with everything the commission

president has just said. i am concerned that the users are properly instructed, that they're not to cross through the golf path and that the trails are preserved, and that that type of instruction is going to be provided to every user. and that will be up to the vendor to make sure that happens. but up to us to check to make sure that that is being done. i had a question with regard to storage. are the segues going to be stored overnight or are they going to be removed or how is that going to happen? >> cassandra costello, again, for property management. we met with gloria and james

and some other folks that really know the area behind the band shell very well and where the tour buses are located now. there are storage containers back there, so we're looking at one or two potentially 20-foot storage containers to be placed where the current storage containers now, where the tour buses are located. commissioner lee: my only suggestion is to -- given the segways are valuable, you're going to be leaving them in a caner -- to make sure there are ample security measures taken, so that you're not going to be -- you don't want it to be attractive to thieves or people who may want to steal them. >> sure. we'll note that. thank you. president buell: commissioner lee, to your first question, they do have a check-off list that they go over with the rider about not going on the grass and how to approach curb cuts and a whole protocol for being respectful of mothers

with strollers and coming up behind people and following traffic rules, just like everybody else. it's really extensive. as somebody testified, when they did it, you are itching to get going, but you've got to go through this training and you've got to hear it all. so they seem to be really very thorough on that front, particularly on the issues that are important to the park. seeing no other comments, i'll entertain a motion. >> so moved. president buell: it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye. opposed? hearing none, it's human news and thank you very much. >> we are now on item number fine, mccoppin square, rainbow montessori of san francisco. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm nicole with park and rec research development. this is a possible action to approve a partial rents forgiveness in the amount of $4,500 for the rainbow montessori of san francisco at

mccoppin square under the 2010-2011 school year. just to recap what's gone on earlier this year, on may 20 the commission approved a five-year lease between rainbow montessori and the city. rainbow montessori has been occupying the clubhouse for over 25 years. they provide a quality daycare program on a first come-first serve basis to the general public. over the many years of operation they've been in the clubhouse, they've been an excellent tenant, showing a willingness to be self-sufficient, taking interest and pride in their programs and most importantly for us -- well, as importantly, the premises. although not required in any past agreement, they've consistently maintained the interior of the clubhouse at the highest level, making significant capital investments. they're currently situated in -- the mccoppin clubhouse is currently sitted in the middle of a major construction project involving a library branch and the adjacent playground. a major tree work and

demolition was planned to be completed this summer, thereby minimizing interpret ruppings of the school. it was postponed and the work will not begin until this fall. late this spring we spoke to the owner and operator of the nursery school. we spoke to her and approached her about the possibility of relocating her school for the year when we realized there would be a scheduled postponement. but the extensive requirements of state licensing would require -- would have just really been prohibitive. when you move to another location, you don't move the license with you. you have to get that new location licensed. so not only is it expensive, it's time consuming. but at that time she felt like she could weather the inconvenience. as news of the construction schedule was made public, 1/3 of the families scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year dropped out and their decision to do so was based solely on the delayed construction. she normally had a waiting list. she went immediately to the waiting list, but by the time

she got to those families they had found other pre-school arrangements, which is, of course, going to happen when you're worried about finding a place for your child in the fall and it's in the summer. so as this scheduled construction change at mccoppin is the reason they chose not to attend rainbow montessori and it's impossible at this late date to fill the spaces or move the school, we're requesting a rent reduction of 1/3 amounting to $4,500 for the first year of the current lease, 2010-2011, and the proposed rent reduction was noiched publicly in the san francisco examiner on september 10 of this month. president buell: thank you. commissioner lee. commissioner lee: this has come up from year to year when we've had construction and vendors complain often, particularly in the concourse. i remember when we had the concourse construction and we had a number of vendors and so

forth who complained about the construction. and i'm just wondering, you know, in those past cases we've often denied the request because it's been part of the -- it has been our practice -- it had been our practice. so i'm wondering, with this particular case, is there something special about this case that would rise to a level where we would consider this rent credit? >> sure. i can't speak to the discussions that happened prior to my tenure here at the department, but i would say that the postponement is our responsibility. we gave her a set of information that, you know, indicated that all construction would be done in the summer. so that by the time we came back to her and said actually there's been a postponement, it

was really too late for her to make other arrangements. in that case, i think that is an extenuating circumstance. >> any other questions? hearing none, any public comment? >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. president buell: pleasure of the commission? >> i'll make a motion that we approve this rent forgiveness. >> it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye? opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous, thank you. >> item number 10 is off calendar, so we are on item number 11, which is sue bierman park. >> good evening. i'm here to request a contract for phase one renovation.

it's for a master plan for sue bierman park approved by the commission in 2005. this plan includes a major overhaul of block 202, which is closest to justin herman plaza and bridge removal, relocation of the korean sculpture and new curb ramps on block 203. after commission approval, the project went through a very long series of funding approvals with the joint planning and recreation and park commissions. so due to the long delay, we held an additional community update meeting attended by 25 to 30 residents on august 30. through the department of public works, the project received five bids on august 11. after the review, the lowest responsible and responsive bid was received from bowman landscape for $927,770. this includes the base bid. and all three alternative bid items.

construction company begin in november and would take approximately six months to complete and i'm available for comments. >> public comment. if you'll come forward, please. >> i don't know how long it's going to take -- >> two minutes. >> to rename the park. you've named it sue bierman. of course, out's easy to steal a park, after i've fought for 20 years to save it. and north beach in san francisco, all those people can come in and get to vote -- get your vote overnight and take the park, put another name on

it, then come along and spend money that's unnecessary that would benefit only the visitors. they've been trying to build on that park. first they wanted to put a high-rise right after the earthquake and other things got that stopped. finally got the park voted on as we got three supervisors removed and three new ones on to move that forward. since then, boris, the architect in north beach, has been pushing to build a ferry park and he'll never be satisfied until he just come in and messed it up. so that's a good excuse for fixing it up, to remove that

tin. nothing is wrong with the ground. the ground is still there. all it needs is to be plowed over and grass replanted and a little sprinkle and it will come back. and mr. boroff, as always, wants to put rocks and curlicues and park rec is willing to help. i do not think you should vote on it. we do not have -- we have not been shown by -- the plans for that park. they seem to hide everything away from the park. and the people who live down there and who really count love the park and have fought for it and want it the way it is, love

the green grass. it's good for the air, good for breathing, good for children to play on and romp on and run on and play on. teas what parks are for. president buell: thank you. >> they're not for walking around. we've got enough cement down there in that area if people want to get out and walk. president buell: thank you very much. >> they can walk on the cement that's already there. >> thank you. ula, you are at time, i'm sorry. president buell: we gave you a little more time than two minutes. thank you. >> is there any other public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. president buell: comment is closed. any questions? seeing none, can can we entertain a motion? it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye.

opposed? hearing none, it's unanimous. >> thank you. we're now on item number 12, which is general public comment continued. is there any general public comment? seeing none, general public comment is closed. we are on item 13, which is commissioners' matters. president buell: commissioner martin. commissioner martin: yes. i have one. >> can you speak into the mic? i'm sorry. commissioner martin: there is a park one block behind me and today, as has been going on all the time. this morning or this afternoon to come here, three people jumped out of there and blocked my car to talk to me about the brooks park. why is it we don't do nothing for it and all that kind of stuff? i didn't know to answer. so i said, let me ask. you know, it's got a lot of high stuff up there and different things. and we did improve it, you know. we put a sidewalk and

everything and steps to go up the hill and all that kind of stuff over the years and stuff like that. then you've also got a garden area, where the neighborhoods come in and do the gardens and stuff like that. so what should i tell them? >> as a reminder, this is discussion only for future comments and cannot be discussed right now. president buell: we'll ask the general manager to get back to you, commissioner, about the status of that park. thank you very much. commissioner lee -- oh, harbs, excuse me. commissioner harrison: i would like to, at some point, in the pretty near future, have a progress report on the deferred maintenance projects that we have done so far with that open space contingency money that we've put aside for those projects. president buell: see to it that you get that, commissioner lee. commissioner lee: i'd like to see if we can get an update on the parking garage lease negotiations with the square perhaps by the next meeting.

we asked for that sometime ago and perhaps by the first meeting in october, if we could have an update on the lease negotiations for the portsmouth square garage. president buell: thank you. i think we discussed -- there was a discussion earlier, but we got some sense of the preliminary results of last night's events for the park trust. doles the commission get an annual report from the trust and expenditures and the amounts they raised? did we get one from last year? >> the trust puts out a report and they have interim requirements. i can make sure they're included in the commission binders. also, at the last meeting, we talked about an information item with an update on the park's trust and their projects . they were obviously focused on -- president buell: now that they're rich --

commissioner lee: trust me, they're a far cry from that. president buell: you're never rich enough in that business. any public comment on commissioners' matters? seeing none, public comment is closed. we are on item 14, which is new business agenda setting. commissioners? any public comment on item 14? item 14 public comment is closed. and 15 is communications. commissioner? president buell: commissioner harrison. commissioner harrison: one of the items was from suzy, regarding the boxing programs in the class. could someone tell me about what's going on with that? she's sorry that the program is stopping or -- >> i believe it was at mission rec. commissioner harrison: the department is continuing boxing. i think one of the instructors at mission rec that did